OAKLAND (KCBS) – The Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved more than $1 million in grant money this week to help truckers meet a fast approaching deadline to reduce emissions at the Port of Oakland.

The program’s ultimate goal is to reduce the cancer risk for people who work and live in the port area, which is as much as 3 times greater than the rest of the Bay Area.

Now, thanks the BAAQMD’s announcement this week, drivers can apply for up to $10,000 each to help pay for upgrades.

“As we move forward we are trying to reduce the health risk and cancer health risk in West Oakland communities,” explained BAAQMD’s Damian Breen. “So that it becomes more normalized with the rest of the Bay Area.”

KCBS’ Anna Duckworth Reports:

The state of California has set a goal of reducing pollution at ports by 85% by 2020. That means more retrofit deadlines are coming down the pipeline for model year 2005 and 2006 engines.

“Essentially all of the trucks need to have their engines upgraded to meet model year 2007 engines emissions standards by January 1, 2014,” explained Breen.